The present invention relates to a manual lathe for use as a hand tool on model cars. The manual lathe has particular utility in connection with removing tread material to round wheels for model cars.
As winter loosens its grip, Cub Scouts emerge from dens across the land for a contest: the Pinewood Derby®. For the derby, Cub Scouts and their adult sponsors assemble a wooden car from a kit and then race their cars against those of fellow Cub Scouts upon a track with separate guideways for each car. Cub Scouts that win local races advance to tournaments. In a car race, speed remains essential to victory and thousandths of a second count. Cub Scouts and their sponsors seek to minimize wheel friction and to align wheels precisely. The wood cars have four wheels. Each plastic wheel has a finished face, a rim, and a centered hub opposite the finished face. The hub fits over an axle hammered into the car. Spinning upon the axle, the hub contacts the car and the wheel contacts the track.
A unique aspect of the present invention is rounding a wheel with minimal risk of injury and without power tools. In a lathe, a wheel rounds as it is turned against a gouge or blade applied radially upon the rim. A round wheel rotates and rolls flat upon a track in complete contact, minimizes wobble in the wheel, and avoids contacting the guideway.